Bigger isn’t always better, a lesson Bailey learned the hard way last season. He played at upward of 350 pounds, and offensive-line coach Tom Cable said Bailey lost some of his athleticism.
RENTON — Seahawks guard Alvin Bailey is 325 pounds, and believe it or not, that is a significantly slim number.
Bigger isn’t always better, a lesson Bailey learned the hard way last season. He played at upward of 350 pounds, and offensive-line coach Tom Cable said Bailey lost some of his athleticism.
“You can’t control your body when you’re that big,” Cable said. “You just can’t. When you start to move right, and then you have to stop and move left again, it takes longer. Those were the things that hurt him.
“But his brain and his talent — he’s really gifted that way. You want to make the whole package complete, and that third element would be discipline.”
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So the fact that Bailey showed up in better shape is important. But the Seahawks aren’t handing Bailey the keys to the left-guard spot after last year’s starter, James Carpenter, signed with the Jets.
Bailey is the front-runner after starting three games at left guard last season. Coach Pete Carroll said that, if the season started today, Bailey would get the first snaps. But the Seahawks have played Keavon Milton, who was on the practice squad last season, and rookies Kristjan Sokoli and Mark Glowinski at left guard with the first-team offense.
“We’re going to create competition for him,” Cable said before adding, “We have a number of guys I think who are going to challenge Alvin for that spot.”
The man Bailey is trying to replace, Carpenter, also struggled with his weight. But Cable said that was because of injuries.
“This is just really habits away from the game,” Cable said. “Just kind of learning to live the right way, eat the right way.”
After praising Bailey for filling in for injured left tackle Russell Okung during a game last season, Carroll told 710 ESPN Seattle that he saw one “big” area in which Bailey could improve: his weight.
“We’ve had that conversation with him on multiple levels, waist high and up,” Carroll said in December, laughing. “But he keeps eating his way to it.”
Said Bailey, “It was never a thought. It was more of an accident. It just kind of happened.”
Bailey said he lost weight by cutting out junk food and fat and eating high-protein foods.
“For me to help the team and for me to help myself,” Bailey said, “I needed to lose some weight.”
When asked if he thinks the starting job is his to lose, Bailey said “definitely.” But first he has to win it.
“That’s the key for him: Just stay in his lane and keep doing the right things,” Cable said.